WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM

Monday, August 14, 2006

RUMPOLE ENDORSES JUDGE LEIFMAN

Today, our favourite Federal Blogger David O Markus will stand in front of a Jury North Of The Border and address them for the last time on behalf of a client that has put her faith, her hope, her future, in his capable hands.

Every lawyer handles a closing argument differently. Some lawyers methodically take the jury through the case, witness by witness, highlighting the strong pieces of evidence, ignoring the holes in their case.

The candidacy Of Juan F. Gonzalez is a candidacy vengeance, racism, and hate.

Fired by Judge Leifman after a string of complaints and bizarre behavior, Gonzalez found solace in the arms of Juan D’Arce, who having been rebuffed in his attempt to shake down Judge Leifman for money, was looking for someone, anyone (with a hispanic last name) , to challenge Judge Leifman. He found his warm body in Gonzalez.

The sad fact is that in a sense D’Arce has already won. His search for a candidate was not a search for a qualified jurist; it was not a search for a lawyer who, by virtue of experience and qualifications would add to the county court bench and this community; it was a search for a warm body to make Judge Leifman miserable.

By any stretch of the imagination, Juan F. Gonzalez is not qualified to be a Judge. He has done nothing of note in an undistinguishable legal career. This would not even be a contest (Think Ali over Quarry) were it not for one lamentable fact; Gonzalez has a name that makes him immediately viable. He could be a cantaloupe named Gonzalez, and he would still mount a viable challenge. His candidacy is a walking, breathing advertisement for merit retention of Judges (which we do not favour, but this is a wakeup call to strongly consider it.)

The sad fact is that those who vote for Gonzalez without knowing him, may someday walk into a courtroom and need a jurist with the intelligence, experience, and dedication of Judge Steve Leifman. We have represented enough people to know that when they walk into a courtroom for a trial, they don’t ask the ethnicity of the Judge, they ask us “is he fair?” and “will he do the right thing?” Knowing the bizzare behavior of Gonzalez, his penchant for screaming at un-represented defendants, his delusional references to his part in the holy trinity, the answer with him is a resounding, unconditional NO.

That question is easily answered with Judge Leifman. Beyond his qualities as a Judge, is the extra dedication to our community that he has shown in addressing the problem of mental illness in criminal law.

In the words of Ted Kennedy eulogizing his late brother Bobby, Judge Leifman is “a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and tried to heal it…”

Folks, this contest is a no-brainer. If our community cannot step up here and do the right thing, then we are in serious trouble.

memo to harvey ruvin: what has the defense bar done to warrant the punishment that is known as Norberto? clearly he has it out for anyone who wants anything on the 9th floor. asking for the time of day requires at least 20 minutes. and would it hurt to have a working copy machine in the clerks office of the criminal building of a major US city? the rates for copies change more than my well diversified portfolio.

I don't know how long this new comment posting has been up. I don't see any mention of it in previous posts. I just want to congradulate Rumpole on the new system. Looks nicer and more professional (for whatever that's worth from an anonyomous lawyer who lacks the ability to even create, let alone maintain, a blog.

I am sure one sitting Judge will win the challenge, but resign from shame.

I suspect you're right and that this will be d'arce's boss. It's my understanding there is an open investigation of d'arce and, by extension, his boss. If there was nothing there, d'arce would be back from unpaid leave and life would go on. But it's been a LOOONG time since the the raid. The lack of resolution bodes ill.

"What do ya mean, funny? Let me understand this cause, I don't know maybe it's me, I'm a little f'ed up maybe, but I'm funny how? I mean, funny like I'm a clown, I amuse you? I make you laugh... I'm here to f' in' amuse you? What do you mean funny, funny how? How am I funny?"

I agree with the earlier comment that Judge Leifman seems to be very pro-state and finds everyone guilty. In addition I think he pesonifies the term "activist" judge and in a negative way. If he thinks something is wrong with the law he tries to change it. While that may seem ideal, I don't feel it's really his role as a judge, even as an 'administrative' judge. Having said that, I plan on casting my vote for him and will tell all my friends and relatives, dead or alive, that they better do the same. (although I tend to think the dead ones might already be on Gonzalez's list.)

A judge in a semi-small city was hearing a drunk-driving case and the defendant, who had both a record and a reputation for driving under the influence, demanded a jury trial. It was nearly 4 P. M. And getting a jury would take time, so the judge called a recess and went out in the hall looking to impanel anyone available for jury duty. He found a dozen lawyers in the main lobby and told them that they were a jury. The lawyers thought this would be a novel experience and so followed the judge back to the courtroom.

The trial was over in about 10 minutes and it was very clear that the defendant was guilty. The jury went into the jury room, the judge started getting ready to go home, and everyone waited. After nearly three hours, the judge was totally out of patience and sent the bailiff into the jury-room to see what was holding up the verdict.

When the bailiff returned, the judge said, "Well have they got a verdict yet?"The bailiff shook his head and said, "Verdict? Hell, they're still doing nominating speeches for the foreman's position!"

Prosecutor: Did you kill the victim?Defendant: No, I did not.Prosecutor: Do you know what the penalties are for perjury?Defendant: Yes, I do. And they're a hell of a lot better than the penalty formurder.

I've got to say that I am APPALLED that the Herald endorsed Bonnie "Lano-Camacho" Rippingille. As a young ASA, I practiced in front of her, and she is, without a doubt, the worst judge in front of whom I've ever practiced. Her ignorance of the law knows no bounds. She is such as space cadet that all the ASAs and APDs used to refer to her as Goldie Hawn on crack.

If the Herald is going to be in the endorsement game, it should be incumbent upon their editorial board to actually visit the courtrooms of any sitting judges running for reelection. How else can one form a knowledgable opinion about a sitting judge?

Say what you will about Don Cohn, but he's far better than "Lano." Hell, a trained monkey would be a bigger asset to the bench than Rippingille.

Crash So we didn't finish the North of the Border Trial today as I had hoped. Summations will be Monday, which means a stressful weekend. Even worse, my Microsoft Exchange Server crashed at the office today, and my tech guy tells me that I've probably lost all my data. I thought this stuff never disappears... So do I start from scratch, hire a data recovery team, or try to recreate what I can from different places? UGH!!!!!posted by David Oscar Markus

I've kind of confused about Migna Sanchez-Llorens' candidacy. My original impression of Migna was that she was a nice Puerto Rican girl from a middle class family living in an upscale Connecticut suburb. I think she went to Wellesly and then NYU Law, both very good schools, before moving down to Miami to work for first the Federal PD's office and then Brummer. In short, she always struck me as very un-Miami--northeastern, Puerto Rican, well-educated, progressive, a real "good government" type.

But now I read things on this blog about her hiring allegedly sleazy campaign "strategists" and "consultants," about her showing up for the unseemly festivities on Calle Ocho celebrating Fidel Castro's illness, things totally inconsistent with my impression of her as a New England good government liberal.

First of all, who are these "strategists" that judicial candidates hire and what services do they provide? Are they all sleazy? Do all candidates hire them? Secondly, are the things that I've read about Migna's candidacy true? Has she really sold out her good government values in favor of sleazy alliances with shady, probably corrupt, Miami good old boys?

I'm not from Miami, and I'm curious if this is the way politics really works down here. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

The expensive suits invaded the BCC this afternoon and could be seen on three different floors.

7TH FLOOR:

Judge Michael Kaplan

Attorney David O Markus was outside the courtroom waiting for a verdict. I saw him at around 4:30 and he said the jury had been out since Noon.

6TH FLOOR:

Judge Jeffrey Levenson

Attorney Jason Grey was picking a jury on an Aggravated Battery case. He was in the middle of finding out how Mrs. Jones bakes her cakes and what ingredients she uses, when a juror asked the following question of Jason:

“What is that man over there doing sitting in the courtroom?" (He was referring to the defendant) and the juror was asking a serious question. Giggles broke out but Jason handled the matter very respectfully, by first telling the man that the constitution required his client be present for this part of the trial; and then he hit the guy over the head with a hockey stick.

5TH FLOOR

Attorney Rick Freedman was arguing pretrial Motions on a Possession of a Firearm by a Conv. Felon, CCF, Possession of Coke with Intent and Possession of cannabis before Judge Eileen (I forgot to mention the EEOC complaints by the blacks and the Jews) O'Connor. He was arguing a Motion To Suppress Statements and a Motion To Sever.

Judge O'Connor kept referring to her days as an AUSA and federal law and Freedman kept citing state law. Fortunately, the Judge did the right thing, handled the issues very professionally and the case worked out relatively well in the long run.

If you want any insight into the Judge, feel free to contact me at anytime.

our famous federal blogger won his case north of the border - (no, I'm not Markus, so shut up)

Patrons cheer Broward jury's decision that game room operates legally

By Jon Burstein South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted August 15 2006

The owner of a Pompano Beach adult game room sobbed uncontrollably, her attorney pumped his fists in victory and courtroom spectators applauded as a jury acquitted her Monday night of illegal gambling charges.

Gale Fontaine's victory could have immediate ramifications for the adult arcade industry not only in Broward County, but across Florida. The case marked the first time in the county -- and one of the first times statewide -- that an adult game room owner had a jury decide the legality of the businesses' video machines.

LocalLinks

"I think this is going to encourage the further growth of adult arcades in Florida," said Robert Jarvis, a Nova Southeastern University law professor who follows the industry. "It's a red-letter day for anybody interested in these sorts of establishments. It's very big news."

Monday's acquittal does not mean the end of Fontaine's legal woes, though. She still faces criminal charges arising from a June raid on another Pompano Beach business she owns, Four Corners Bingo. Broward sheriff's deputies seized 50 similar video machines from there.

Markus said he hopes prosecutors consider dropping the second case.

"The jury has spoken. They have spoken very clearly and I think now it has been settled that Ms. Fontaine was acting legally and in compliance with the law," Markus said.

Rossman said the second case will continue. (because it's broward, and they just can't lose there)

nice piece in DBR about lawyers who do public service. my only question is are thier really firms beating down the door to hire tamara gray at pd's office who has been in juvy for at least 11 years? if you havent read it go to markus federal blog